By Max Clifford
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Medfield High School Varsity Boys’ Hockey wrapped up league play last week with a Monday night tune-up against Holliston before hosting Westwood for their senior game on Friday. After teeing off for nine goals against Holliston, the Warriors found themselves in a tight contest with Westwood, eventually falling by a final score of 3-2.
Medfield got their looks early and often in Marlborough on Monday. It took less than 50 seconds of game time for the Warriors to take a 2-0 lead over Holliston. A pair of Jacks was a winning hand on their third score, with Jack Gwaltney feeding Jack Blake in front of the net. Jake Cragan’s first career goal put the Warriors up 4-0 with nearly 12 minutes remaining in the first. John Shaughnessy, with a goal already to his name on the day, slipped an assist to Michael
Lyons to convert the fifth Medfield goal of the evening. Just shy of the first period buzzer, Gwaltney put in a score of his own, launching from near the blue line to put his squad up 6-0 at the brea.
The Medfield bench saw plenty of action in the second and third periods. Behind strong goaltending and a dusting of late scores, the Warriors finished off their pre-senior night tune-up with a 9-0 victory on the road.
On Friday night, the Warriors were back on their home ice at the Cadillac Ice Arena in search of a season sweep of Westwood. Medfield kept the Wolverines off the scoreboard in their first matchup on December 13. On Friday, however, it was both teams struggling to find the net in a 0-0 opening period.
The floodgates opened for both sides after the first intermission. The Wolverines scored early in the second but the Medfield response was just as quick. Corralling a blocked shot attempt, Blake was able to convert the putback for his second goal of the week.
With just under seven minutes remaining in the period, Ben Lusby slipped a puck past the Westwood goalkeeper for the first Medfield lead of the afternoon, 2-1.
Ever-persistent, the Wolverines found the back of the net twice in the closing minutes of the second to reclaim a narrow lead, 3-2.
The offensive explosion from both sides in the second period was not to be sustained, as both goaltenders went right back to making saves in the third. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Westwood defense was just as strong as their own, cementing a scoreless final frame and a 3-2 defeat.
